Fire and Ice: A Thriller (A Hawk Tate Novel Book 3)
Page 24
I had told him I didn’t know if that was necessarily the safest way to approach things, but that if there was anything else I could do to help him or Yvonne, to call me.
I’d be there.
“You do the same,” Ferris replied, having made the argument that I too could now be in somebody’s crosshairs and needed to keep an eye out.
My reply to him was that the only way they’d even know I existed was if somebody told them.
Besides, I felt reasonably certain that I could handle myself, especially in the vast wilderness of Yellowstone.
We left it at that, speaking in code so that Yvonne wouldn’t be privy to our concerns, wanting her to focus on healing.
As if sensing what was going on, she stood, dropping the blanket into the chair.
“Come on, I’ll walk you out.”
Nodding at her invitation, I raised two fingers to my brow in farewell. “Gentlemen.”
Both replied in kind, neither saying anything, their expressions telling me everything.
I’ve heard women complain before that men seem to have their own language, but that’s not entirely correct.
Oftentimes, the best way for us to communicate is not by speaking at all.
Yvonne’s stocking feet moved silently across the floor as she stepped to the side of the door and shoved them into a pair of snow boots, grabbing a parka off the coatrack by the door as she did. Without pause she turned the knob and stepped to the side, allowing me to go through before following me out to the porch.
Closing the door softly behind her, she stood with her hands thrust into the front pockets of the coat, using them to hold it shut in front of her.
Her face still displayed what she had gone through, the bruises just beginning to fade, the swelling receded.
“How you feeling?” I asked.
She smiled just slightly as she looked at me before glancing out at the yard.
Still shrouded in white, it would be some time before all the snow was gone, despite rumors of spring making a long overdue appearance by week’s end.
“It only hurts when I breathe,” she said, again offering the same contained smile.
Having once sustained a broken rib myself, I recognized the sentiment, a conscious effort on her part to avoid any laughter, anything that might cause that searing pain in her side.
“And you?” she asked. “Everything working?”
“As much as it ever was,” I replied.
The faintest hint of midday sunshine was poking through the thick cloud cover, reflecting off of the snow, giving everything an ethereal glow.
Just one of the many things I had come to appreciate about Montana.
“So what next?” I asked. “Back to Georgia?”
Glancing my way, Yvonne shook her head, her curls swinging from side to side. “No. Not yet, anyway.”
She paused there, her voice dropping, and added, “I made a promise when I came up here.”
A moment passed as she continued to stare out, the expression on her face telling me she was trying to corral a dozen different thoughts, ranging from the situation with her father to how to best address everything that had happened in the last few days.
“Some people would say I’m crazy for staying on,” she said, turning to face me. She removed her left hand from her coat and placed it on my arm, squeezing just slightly, the same half smile appearing on her face. “But I don’t need to explain honoring a commitment to you, do I?”
Of everything she could have said in that moment, I don’t know that anything would have been more fitting.
“No. You don’t.”
Thank You for Reading!
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Dustin Stevens
About the Author
Dustin Stevens is the author of more than 20 novels, 15 of them having become #1 Amazon bestsellers, including the Hawk Tate and Zoo Crew series. The Boat Man, the first release in the best-selling Reed & Billie series, was recently named the 2016 Indie Award winner for E-Book fiction and the 3rd Grand Prize Winner for all books – hard cover, paperback and ebook.
He is an award-winning screenwriter in the prestigious Harvardwood and Emerging Screenwriters competitions, as well as the Nashville International Film Festival and the Honolulu Film Awards. In addition, he is the only multi-time finalist at the Big Bear Lake International Film Festival.
A member of the Mystery Writers of America and Thriller Writers International, he resides in Honolulu, Hawaii.